Asunder
by link no miko
Summary: A cry for help, an important mission. Allies, enemies, friends. But who can name the differences when all the pieces are scattered?
1. Distant Skies

**Asunder**

-

Well, this is my first attempt at a not!oneshot in a very long time. I'm pretty excited, actually. This takes place post 246, will probably be AU very soon because 247 just came out, and um... We'll see what happens from there on, ne? I have ideas for this fic, but not everything is cemented so...

Let the fun commence!

Comments and criticisms are always appreciated.

-

Chapter One: Distant Skies

-

The explosion rocked the buildings, dust and debris flying everywhere, the ever-present sand kicked up into larger clouds than seen since the last sandstorm. People screamed, shinobi flew past as fast as they could, weapons bared and senses alert for the next signs of attack. They had been caught unawares with the first bombardment.

This would not happen again.

Another explosion screeched through the hidden village, and a building somewhere collapsed. The sound echoed, alerting every shinobi within hearing distance, and they altered their direction. The explosions seemed to be forming a line, and if they could head it off…

A rending sound stopped them dead in their tracks, however, when behind them was the sound of a huge building collapsing. Turning back in sheer horror, they could only watch as the giant snake seemed to sneer at them from above the rubble that was once the building the Kazekage lived in, and then disappeared. If they didn't know better, they could have sworn the reptile was laughing at them.

When the dust cleared and all the attacks ceased, through the wailing of those who had lost loved ones, one name echoed in the minds of all present as anger and failure washed over them.

_Orochimaru._

-

Naruto kicked a piece of stone rubble, sending the heavy block rolling a few good feet. He crossed his arms behind his head, turning in a lazy circle and surveying the area.

"Man, this place is a mess. What'd you guys do to it, anyway?"

Something smacked him in the back of the head, and he turned around, glaring at Temari as she calmly folded her fan and placed it back in its holster along her back. "The hell'd you do that for?"

"Because you're a dumbass."

"She has you there, you know," Shikamaru nodded from where he sat against a large piece of rubble, head tilted back and arms splayed out as he stared up at the sky. "You say some really stupid things sometimes, you know?"

"No one asked you!"

"Naruto-kun," Hinata called softly, waving a hand gently in the air. "Please don't fight… We're here to help…"

The fox-boy frowned, folding his arms across his chest. But then he grinned, jumping over to the humble girl and nudging her with his elbow. "They know I didn't mean it. And besides, not stopping it from being true, is it? This place got seriously messed up."

"It's not something we could help, idiot!" Temari called back, eyes narrowed. Shikamaru groaned quietly and pulled his forehead protector down over his eyes. "You have Orochimaru surprise attack _your_ village and say the same thing!"

Naruto growled, taking a fighting stance and glaring right back at the older girl. "Like hell he would, not with Uzumaki Naruto there! No one's gonna hurt my home again without getting the shit kicked outta them! I'm a hell of a lot stronger now than I was three years ago!"

"Shut up, both of you."

Both combatants froze, turning to face the newcomer. Gaara stood atop one of the larger pieces of rubble, the sun to his back, his eyes narrowed dangerously as he surveyed the scene. Behind him, Naruto heard Hinata squeak quietly, but he just stood straighter and pointed a finger at the Sand-nin.

"Finally decided to show up? Where ya been?"

"None of your business." Gaara took a step and disappeared, then reappeared beside his sister, facing towards Naruto. Temari nodded to him and put her fan back in its place, turning around and walking farther down the road without another word. Naruto made a noise in his throat and then pulled his bottom eyelid down and stuck his tongue out at the girl. Without turning around she waved a hand in the air, making a very rude gesture with one of her fingers.

Naruto did it right back.

"Children, let's be nice, shall we?" Everyone's eyes except Shikamaru's turned as Sakura and Neji exited one of the standing buildings, their clothes dirty and his hair looking a little grey. Sakura stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the retreating Temari. Neji stood quietly behind her, but the corners of his lips seemed to be twitching. Slightly. If one looked close enough. Naruto was sure he even heard a faint "Idiots" before Sakura was talking again.

"Honestly. We came here to help, Naruto. You can at least be civil. And you, Shikamaru!" She turned her glare to the lone Chuunin, who flinched slightly. Sakura's voice could do that sometimes. "You're in charge here, aren't you? Why the hell are you asleep?"

"I'm not asleep. I'm contemplating." Naruto most _definitely_ heard his friend's whispered 'Troublesome girl,' and he sniggered.

"You're all idiots," Gaara said quietly, walking towards the suddenly still Sakura. "No one asked you to come here, anyway."

"Th-that's not quite true, Gaara-san…" Hinata began, but quieted when he turned his gaze to her. She swallowed and licked her lips, and Gaara frowned.

"She means we got a letter from your Kage, asking our village to send a team to help you guys rebuild. Since, you know, we _are_ observing a truce and all that," Shikamaru said, lifting one side of his forehead protector and looking at Gaara with one eye.

The Sand-nin grunted and turned away. "I never asked for your help, and neither do I need it. Stay all you want, but keep away from me. And be quiet or I'll maim you," he said the last to Sakura, eying her out of the corner of his eye. The girl paled and swallowed, but caught his look with her own and stood straighter. Gaara smirked coldly and then disappeared.

"…Someone needs to kick him or something. He's way too tense."

"Naruto-kun…"

"Hehe!"

Sakura did everyone a favor and slapped the cheeky boy upside the head.

-

Five minutes and one irate Shikamaru later ("Why do I always have to stop your fights, Naruto?"), ten Narutos were running around the ruined town, repairing what could be salvaged, helping to tear down those things that couldn't be, and making a general nuisance of themselves.

"Look out below!" Naruto #9 called out as he tossed a large chunk of mason from a half-fallen roof, narrowly missing the silent Shino. He gave an apologetic grin, saluting with one hand, while Shino just rolled his eyes and had his insects help him move the larger pieces of rock into a pile to be dealt with at a later date. A bit farther down the road, Lee was smashing his way through huge piles of useless rubble, breaking the larger stones down to much easier to deal with chunks, grinning and blushing and posing every time Sakura looked his way.

Hinata walked through the rubble, helping out where she could, but feeling a little on the useless side. Naruto's shadow clones were taking care of most of the harder jobs, and everyone else had the rest basically covered. She helped when and where she could, but it still seemed as though she was just getting in the way.

"Hinata-chan." The girl turned when she heard her name, and smiled shyly as Sakura walked up to her, dusting her front off. She had small chunks of stone in her hair, and Hinata bit her lip to keep from smiling. Sakura had changed a lot in three years, and didn't seem as caught up in her image as she once was.

"Sakura-chan, hello…"

"You look lost," the other girl said, smiling slightly. "Nothing for you to do?"

Hinata shook her head, blushing slightly. "N-no, it seems like everyone is doing everything…"

Sakura shook her head slightly and patted Hinata on the shoulder. "Not everything. It's getting kinda late, and no one here can cook really well besides me and probably Neji. I know it's not a very glorious job or anything, and seems kinda degrading, but…"

Hinata shook her head, smiling kindly. "No, that's fine. It's something I can do, after all…"

Sakura frowned. "Don't sell yourself short."

"Oi, Sakura! Wanna help, or you just gonna stand there and be useless?" Kiba called, sticking his head out of a door, Akamaru frowning along with his master from his place in Kiba's shirt. The pink-haired kunoichi rolled her eyes, smiled at Hinata one last time, then turned around abruptly and stalked over to Kiba, smacking him upside the head before she disappeared into the building, grumbling under her breath—loud enough for everyone within a thirty foot radius to hear.

Hinata giggled. Sakura always seemed to be able to say something to make her feel better, ever since Naruto hadn't been around to do so. That thought made her frown though, and she dropped her eyes to her clasped hands. It had been hard without Naruto around for the past few years, and she'd had troubles without his constant smiles.

_Naruto-kun…_

Something twitched in her peripheral vision and she froze, initiating her Byakugan so she could look without whatever-it-was noticing she was looking.

Her intake of breath cut that tactic short, however.

Gaara stood beside a building, his eyes impassive as they surveyed the area, then returned and focused on her when she gasped. Frozen and fighting the urge to shake, she watched him watch her, cold eyes unreadable as she squeezed her own eyes shut.

But then the feeling of his eyes on her was gone, and she saw him turn from her, not looking back, and she let out a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding. _Gaara-san… Wh-what was that…?_

Obviously shaken, the girl finally forced herself to move, going in the opposite direction Gaara had taken, out to the cleared away area a little ways outside of town where they had decided to make their camp.

Once there, dinner was a welcome distraction. Hinata wasn't a very confident person, and while she was trying to change, she knew she still had a long way to go. But if there were anything she _was_ confident in, that would be her cooking skills. Ever since she was young, she'd enjoyed two places the most—the kitchen and the garden. Both were places where she could hide herself, busy herself away from the eyes of her father and the rest of her family and not feel as though she was being a disappointment. The foods she cooked tasted good, the flowers she grew were always the healthiest. And she felt free while she did such menial tasks—there was no need to prove herself, no need to fight or get into any sort of conflict.

Just her, her work, and quiet.

_I wonder if that makes me any less in his eyes… That I would content myself to subservient chores like this…?_

"Hinata."

Lifting her head slowly from where she was chopping some vegetables, Hinata smiled her usual smile as Shikamaru slowly made his way towards her, dirty and tired-looking.

"Shikamaru-kun. I'm sorry, but I just started. Food won't be ready for a while yet…"

"That's okay. I'm just here to rest for a bit." He sat down and leaned forward a little, wearing his usual bored expression. "Besides, the Narutos are too dangerous. Let the others take care of them."

She sighed and shook her head, but turned back to her task. Shikamaru was lazy, but if things were really as bad as he made it sound she knew he'd be down there making sure everyone was safe. Because he hated responsibility, he never took it lightly when they were out on a mission—he hated the idea of having to take responsibility for any injuries on his team.

But more than that, he was the type of person who hated to see his friends get hurt. That was why they all trusted him with their lives.

"It's getting late anyway," he continued, laying back and folding his arms behind his head. "They should figure that out soon and come back here. If anything, Naruto's stomach will make him. …Chouji's too. I'm surprised he's not here yet."

"I saw Chouji-kun about an hour ago," Hinata said, still busy making the food. "He had a few of those bags of chips of his…"

Shikamaru smirked, closing his eyes. "Then he'll be here soon, too. Those won't last long."

True to his word, within the hour the rest of the Konohakagure team trudged out of the ruined town and towards their little camp, looking the worse for wear, but not unhappy. Chouji led the way, with a hyper Naruto not two steps behind, a broad grin plastered across his face. The rest followed at a more stately walk, and surprisingly enough Temari was with them. Hinata saw Shikamaru raise an eyebrow at that, and felt her own rise as well.

"Welcome back," she greeted everyone, ignoring her own confusion in lieu of being polite. "Everything is ready, s-so there's no need to wait…"

"Alright!" Naruto and Chouji both cheered at once, sitting down instantly and staring up at Hinata like puppies begging for a treat. She bit her lip to keep from giggling, and instead pointed at the pile of satchels they'd brought.

"Please get your bowls, and I'll serve…"

They were gone and back before she even finished her sentence.

Giggling despite herself, Hinata gladly served out the food, although strangely enough she skipped over Naruto. He raised an eyebrow, but she only smiled at him. When everyone else was served, even Temari, although the older girl scared Hinata with all her glaring, the timid girl turned back to Naruto.

"I know you don't much like this meal…" she began, fidgeting slightly, "so um…" Biting her lip and trying not to draw any more attention to herself, she turned around and grabbed a different bowl, taking Naruto's from his hand and replacing it. "I made th-this instead…" Her cheeks were bright red.

"Uh…ok?" Naruto shrugged and then looked into the bowl, his eyes lighting up. "Aww cool, yeah! Ramen! Thanks Hinata-chan! You think of everything!"

"N-not really…" she murmured as he bounded away to sit by Sakura and Neji. Her hands fidgeting in front of her stomach before she turned around to serve herself some food, but just as she picked up the bowl something moved to her right and she jumped.

Gaara and Kankurou stood off to the side, watching the group with their impassive eyes, and Hinata took a deep breath, her heart beating quicker. The Sand brothers scared her, she wasn't afraid to admit. They all did, but the youngest did the most. _Not that he doesn't scare everyone else…_

"Oi, took you two long enough," Temari called, grinning cheekily and waving them over. "Get some food, it's not _so_ terrible."

"Heh, really now? Not poisoned or anything?"

Temari shrugged. "I don't think she'd have the guts to do that, even if they had anything like that on them." Hinata flushed at the obvious insult, and Sakura narrowed her eyes at the older girl.

"Maybe not, but I would," she spoke softly, and Temari eyed her, both girls glaring for all they were worth.

"…This is getting old…" Shikamaru muttered, hiding behind his bowl as he ate. The rest of the boys followed suit.

Except, of course, for Naruto.

"Hey, you got some kinda problem?" He stood quickly, slurping his ramen into his mouth and swallowing in one movement. "'Cause if you do I'll kick it right outta you!"

"Idiot," Neji muttered.

"Oi! Neji! Who's side are you on, anyway!"

"N-Naruto-kun… Neji-niisan…"

"You just gonna let her say something like that!"

Hinata wanted to shrink into herself. "P-please… It's okay… R-really…"

Movement to her right made her blink and turn her head, and everyone else followed suit. Gaara took a step forward, then another, closing the distance to Hinata one slow step at a time. The pale girl trembled slightly, unsure of what was going on, but frozen in her place, even when Gaara was less than a foot away from her.

He surprised everyone by holding out his hand, speaking low and quiet. "Food."

Hinata was so surprised she squeaked, then flushed bright red and grabbed the ladle, spooning food into the dish she'd taken from Naruto and handing it to the cold red-headed boy. Without another word he walked past her until he was at the edge of the camp, beside a large boulder. In one movement he was up on top of it, sitting with his back to everyone else.

"Hinata-sama…?"

The girl blinked and jumped slightly at Neji's touch to her shoulder, fighting off her embarrassed blush and failing miserably. "Y-yes…?"

"Here," he handed her a bowl with food and directed her towards Sakura, seating her where he had once been. "You should eat. I'm going to go and scout around. I'll return within the hour." He looked to Shikamaru as he said so, and the other ninja nodded slightly. Neji dipped his head in reply, then was gone.

The rest of dinner passed peacefully, with even Naruto managing to be quiet—for Naruto, that was. When he was finished eating and had set his bowl down, he winked at Hinata and stretched his arms above his head. "Hey, Sakura-chan only hit me two times during the entire meal. I think that's a record."

"Congratulations," Kiba said behind him, smirking. "Maybe someday she'll knock you out with the first one and that'll be your highest record."

Naruto gave his friend a very rude gesture, and Kiba laughed. Naruto grinned and threw a punch that Kiba easily dodged, and then the two were off, Lee following and offering to help Naruto defend Sakura against Kiba ("She is no such girl, to knock a man out!" Sakura had just stared at him.). Shikamaru grumbled and picked himself up off the ground, complaining about noise and saying he was going to find somewhere quiet. Shino and Chouji left with him, and Sakura stretched out and said something about wanting sleep. Temari and Kankurou were nowhere to be seen.

Hinata watched them go, waving slowly, then turned and began to busy herself with the task of cleaning the dishes. Sakura had offered to stay and help while they had eaten, and Shino had as well, but she had refused the offers. Cleaning the dishes didn't bother her, and besides, she'd said, she was the one to make the food, she could clean it up. Whoever cooked the next day could do both tasks as well.

Busying herself as she was and humming softly, she hadn't notice that someone was still sitting, watching her. Only when a shift in the wind carried the scent of dinner to her did she stop, her eyes widened, and she whirled around.

Gaara sat on his rock, watching her, the bowl balanced perfectly on his knee. Hinata swallowed, her throat dry, her gaze locked with his in a terrifying way she couldn't escape.

"G-Gaara…san…? I thought you w-were finished…"

"Why do you do that?"

She blinked, finally able to pull her eyes away from his. "I-I'm sorry…?"

"Look at him like that. He won't ever notice. No one notices anything but power."

_Wh-what…? Why would Gaara-san…?_

"You're weak, to throw yourself at someone like that. Especially someone like him, who won't ever notice."

Hinata frowned, bowing her head. "That's not…quite right…" She raised her head, white eyes meeting cold ones. "There's more to everyone than what we can e-easily see… With him, there's something buried deep inside th-that he hides away… But despite that he smiles at me…and helps me… Even if he needs help too…"

Gaara stared at her, face unreadable, and then he was on the ground directly before her, their noses nearly touching, his eyes boring into hers. Hinata squeaked in surprise but didn't look away. For some reason, she didn't think she could back down. Not from this.

The boy continued to stare at her, and she felt something brush along her arm, shivering when she realized what it was. The sand Gaara controlled surrounded her, circling slowly, as though it didn't quite understand what she was, and would periodically come closer and brush against her curiously. She held her breath, all too aware of what he could do to her should he chose to, but her eyes never left his.

Finally, a flicker. Some kind of reaction crossed his gaze, and the sand calmed, retreating back into the gourd on his back. When the last grain was safely within, Hinata blinked.

"What is it that you see, with those eyes of yours?"

Caught off-guard by the question, Hinata could only stare at him, her mouth open but no words coming out. What did he mean by that? He knew about the Byakugan, he knew what she could do.

_So…why?_

Before she could ask, he turned away and was gone, leaving her alone in the fading light, shaken and confused. After what felt like hours, but couldn't have been more than a few minutes, she picked herself up and returned to her task, trying to lose herself in it once again.

But she couldn't get his question out of her mind.


	2. Under the Moon

**Asunder**

**-**

Produced faster than I thought it would be. Hurray for turnaround. Some plot develops, some more character interactions, and more fun with Shikamaru. Because I loves him.

And I was right, chapter 247 went and made this AU. So uh, anything post 246 is not being taken into consideration.

As always, comments and criticisms are highly appreciated.

-

Chapter Two: Under the Moon

-

"…which is a load of crap!"

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his temple, all his pretense at trying to pay attention gone. He hated meetings. He hated being _here_, and at _this_ meeting especially.

Being the leader of his group, he had the wonderful responsibility known as "conversing with the locals and sorting things out." He'd rather be outside sleeping in what little shade he could find.

But the way this meeting was going, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Look," he sighed, leaning forward and resting his arms against the table, "we can understand why you might not like this, but it's not like you don't _need_ our help. We're allies, it's what allies _do_."

"We do not need weak Konoha ninja to help us rebuild _our_ city! You're not wanted!"

"Funny, that sounds like what someone else told me yesterday. And I told him to shove it, too."

The Sand-nin across from him bristled, his face turning scarlet and his knuckles white as he glared at the young man across the table. "Watch your tongue."

"It's in my mouth, I can't really do that."

"_Children_," another voice butted in, the speaker standing and slamming her hands against the table loud enough to echo throughout the room. She glared at each man in turn, but her eyes focused on Shikamaru. He rolled his eyes and sat back, and she raised an eyebrow in what he recognized as an amused expression.

"Temari, sit down," an older man spoke up, sitting next to her. She frowned and ripped her gaze off Shikamaru, nodded to the man, and sat, arms folded across her breasts. "Now," he began again, softer, "this open hostility is doing neither of us any good. I doubt the Leaf wanted to send anyone to help us as it is. But they did, ad we should at least be able to show _some_ kind of gratitude. And as soon as things are up and running easily again, they'll be gone. Which, if things keep going as they are, will be in a little less than a week, is that correct, Shikamaru-kun?"

The lazy ninja nodded. "Yeah. We'll be gone before you know it."

Across from him, the irate man didn't seem any happier, but he grunted his acknowledgement anyway. "Fine. Just stay out of our way while you're here."

Shikamaru idly wondered what would happen if he were to tell Naruto what the man had said. _He'd probably follow him around just to piss him off._

_…That actually sounds rather promising._

"Meeting dismissed," the elderly ninja spoke up and stood, retreating from the room with the others following him. The irate ninja paused a moment to glare back at Shikamaru—_Yeah, definitely gonna want to tell Naruto_—and then he, too, was gone.

Leaving Shikamaru with only Temari, which did not bode well for the strategist.

"That was troublesome," he muttered, looking at her out of the side of his eye. She smirked at him.

"Everything is to you."

"Everything _is_. You said too many words."

"If you say so." She stood, stretching her arms over her head. "You should be more careful, you know," she eyed him as she stretched. "Not everyone was happy when we made a truce with a weaker clan."

"That always happens." The boy stood as well, chair scraping the ground. "It can't be helped."

"No, but that doesn't mean you should instigate things." Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow and she smirked. "You aren't making friends quickly."

"So I figured."

"And truth be told, if the only reason you were here was to help us 'rebuild,' I would have thrown you out by now."

Shikamaru paused, eyes darting to meet hers. Temari's smirk made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up straight and he felt a shiver run up his spine. _Troublesome woman._

"There's no reason Konoha would send some of its best ninja here just to help us rebuild, despite the fact we're allies. Anyone who would willingly believe that's the only reason is an idiot." Shikamaru shrugged and Temari began walking towards him. "You're only using the rebuilding excuse so you can spy on us. Are you worried we'll betray you to Orochimaru again, like three years ago?"

Shikamaru kept his face impassive.

She was right in front of him now, their noses nearly touching. "Because I know the Leaf has problems with betrayal. It's a rather sore wound for you guys, isn't it? Especially when it involves Orochimaru."

His cheek twitched, and she smiled, then grabbed his shirt with one hand and pulled him—if it was even possible—closer to her.

"Why would Konoha send so many of you just to spy on us, otherwise? Think we agreed to trash our own village just to fool you?"

Shikamaru smirked. "Ah, and here I was thinking you got it. But you're only half right." He lifted a hand and forced hers open, but he didn't step back because she grabbed his shirt with her other hand and pulled him closer, her mouth crushing his. Shikamaru's eyes flew open and he shoved her back, sputtering whereas she was smirking like nothing had happened at all.

"I like you. You intrigue me, I can't understand you, and you're just a little bit cute." She leaned against the table, arms crossed beneath her breasts. "So what's the half I have wrong?"

_Troublesome -troublesome- woman!_ "We're allies. That doesn't mean we share all our secrets like a bunch of women sitting around a well."

Her eyes flashed for a second, but she never lost the smirk. "I see. Well if you're going to be like that, I'll just have to watch you even closer." She pulled away from the table, walking past him to the door, her arm just barely brushing his. "Just be careful of Hanzo and his group. Allies or not, they don't care. I wouldn't want to see anything sticking out of that back of yours." She gave him a curt wave, turned from him completely, and was gone.

Five seconds later, Shikamaru let loose a huge sigh and slumped against the nearest wall, running his hands through his hair.

He was _never_ going to understand women.

-

Naruto bounded through the air, jumping from roof to roof and having a great time doing so, if he did say so himself. And the best part of it was that he was going completely undetected. None of the onlookers, let alone his prey, knew what the young shinobi was up to.

_Heh. Because I am _that_ good._

Mentally buffing his nails against his jacket, Naruto stopped abruptly and flattened himself against his current roof, senses poised. His prey had stopped suddenly, turning around as though looking for someone following him. _That can't be a good sign…_ But the man seemed satisfied when he didn't instantly see anyone around, and continued on. Naruto grinned, gave himself five seconds, and then was up and following silently again.

_This is way too easy. Heh, I guess I just have gotten too great._

A few yards behind the young ninja, a shadow broke itself off from its surroundings, paused a moment, and then turned and vanished without a sound.

-

"Ok, the idiot is late."

Hinata looked up from where she sat, blinking at the pacing Kiba. Akamaru slept beside her, his back legs twitching every now and then, but Kiba was wide awake, pacing, and more than a little put out.

"M-maybe he got distracted…?"

Kiba rounded on her with a snarl. "Distracted with _what_! There's nothing out here in this god forsaken desert but _sand!_" Hinata winced and Kiba rubbed his temple, pulling away slightly. "Sorry. But I'm pissed off. Where'd he go? It's not like him to miss anything dealing with food."

"Maybe it's because Neji cooked it," Sakura piped in, grinning, and the white-eyed shinobi turned his head to glare at her from his place by the fire.

Kiba sighed dramatically. "Naruto eats ramen for every meal of the day. I doubt Neji's cooking would scare him off."

Neji's glare moved from Sakura to Kiba.

"How about we all stop the fighting and eat?" Chouji asked, finishing off the last chip in his bag. "I'm hungry. Naruto can make his own food if he's hungry enough."

Hinata frowned, biting her bottom lip but not saying anything. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, but she also couldn't prove it. And Naruto _could_ take care of himself…

Without any more protests, Neji sighed and served out the food, lifting an eyebrow as Temari and Kankurou chose that moment to join up with them. Hinata noticed Shikamaru tense slightly and tilted her head to the side curiously, but then Temari was being her usual loud self and the shy Hyuuga shook her head. These Sand people were so confusing.

"Hinata-sama."

She blinked and looked up, startled slightly by the bowl Neji held directly in front of her face. Smiling shyly, her cheeks tinged pink, she said a quiet thank you and took the offered food.

"I'm sure he's fine, Hinata-sama," Neji said, taking a place beside her. "This _is_ Naruto we're talking about."

"Yes… You're right…"

"Did you say Naruto?" Both Hyuuga's looked up at the new voice, Hinata smiling shyly and Neji raising an eyebrow as Temari took a seat opposite them, slurping up her food.

"D-do you know where he is…?"

A shrug. "Depends on what time you're talking about. Saw the idiot about midday." Another slurp.

_Midday… That's a little after Shikamaru-kun came back from the meeting…_

"You haven't seen him since then…?"

Temari shrugged again, a glint in her eye Hinata didn't find very assuring. "What'll ya give me if I tell you?"

"A kick in the ass if you don't!" Sakura called from her place a few feet away, glaring over her bowl at the other kunoichi. Temari shrugged, a smirk on her lips.

"You can try, but we all know who'd win that particular match."

"Troublesome…"

Temari half-turned, that smirk never leaving her face. "Oh, you know you love it. I thought I'd taught you that earlier. Hmm?" All eyes were on Shikamaru in a second, but the lazy shinobi took it in his usual way.

He closed his eyes and prayed the day would leave him alone.

Temari's smirk was vicious when she turned back around. "I'll get him yet…"

"Um… Temari-san…"

The older woman rolled her eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh. "_Yes_?"

"So you don't know where Naruto-kun went?"

"No, I don't know. And I don't particularly care either way what that idiot gets himself into, as long as it doesn't involve me and/or me having to fix anything he's done."

"You're so nice," Kiba muttered from his place by Sakura.

Temari flipped him off.

They finished eating quickly, Temari and Kankurou leaving soon after, and Hinata stayed behind to help her cousin wash up.

"Hinata-sama, you don't have to. I can handle this myself." The male Hyuuga frowned, pushing Hinata back a bit.

"But I want to help…"

"By your own words, the cook is the one to clean. If we're going to have any semblance of order, you're going to follow your own rules. Otherwise everyone will take advantage of your kindness."

Sighing and sitting back, Hinata nodded. "I know…"

"Good. Now go and practice, or rest, or something. Tomorrow won't be any easier than today was." The girl nodded, and he patted her on the head awkwardly, as though the motion was strange to him, which in all reality it was. "Good. Now go."

"Okay…"

Hinata stood, brushing herself off quickly before turning from her cousin and heading towards the perimeter of their camp. It wasn't until she was standing in its shadow that she realized she'd walked to the rock Gaara had sat on two nights before, when she'd made dinner.

_He hasn't shown up since then. I wonder where he went…?_

She shivered, folding her arms around herself. _I don't know that I want to know… He still scares me._

Running a hand over the rough surface, she leaned into the rock, turning so her back was to it and sliding down. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then looked up at the sky, initiating her Byakugan. If anyone was nearby, she'd find them.

But all she found was sand.

_Naruto-kun… Where are you…?_

_-_

Dawn broke like always in the desert, frozen night driven away by blazing day. Hinata awoke with a start, her senses suddenly alert to the shadow standing above her.

Opening her eyes at the same time she reached for her kunai, she barely had time to register the form before something pinned her to the rock, covering her mouth to keep her from crying out. Eyes wide and tearing, trying to hide her panic, she couldn't help but whimper when the pressure increased slightly and the figure leaned in toward her, allowing her to see some features.

_Gaara…san…?_

The Sand-nin leaned in close to her again, as he had two nights ago, staring into her eyes with a look she couldn't understand and didn't want to.

"Your friend never returned." His words were cold, but not harsh. There was no emotion to them because he didn't need to have any. This was fact. Hinata winced as he tossed something to the ground before her feet. Naruto's forehead protector. "The others have gone to find him." The sand around her mouth dropped away, and the pressure against her chest lessened some. Gaara was challenging her, she could sense it, but what was the challenge?

"So what will you do?"

The sand pulled away from her completely, and she slumped back against the rock. Gaara was gone, and she was too scattered to use her Byakugan to find him.

But she knew what the challenge was now.

Leaning forward, she picked up the headband, cradling it to her chest. _He's testing me…? Why? And why would everyone go to find Naruto-kun? Where could he have gone? Why did no one wake me…?_

She frowned thoughtfully, biting her bottom lip. The only way she could think of that no one would have woken her was if they were told not to. But who would do that? And why wouldn't Shikamaru leave someone behind to watch the camp, or check the village to find their missing friend?

_What… What's going on…?_

Gaara's words echoed in her mind though, and she took a deep breath to steady herself, using the rock to haul herself to her feet, Naruto's forehead protector still cradled against her chest. _Whatever the reason… I… I can't back down now. If Naruto-kun needs me… _Her hands tightened around the object she held and her eyes narrowed in determination. _I want to help him. Like he's helped me._

One last steadying breath, one clenched fist lowering to her side, and she was off, running to someplace she had no idea of, without any clues or help. Her heart thudded painfully, and she was more terrified than she'd been since her fight with Neji in the Chuunin exam, but something was urging her on, making her move. _I can't give up now… Not when I've tried to change myself…_

And behind her, the sand shifted as another form took flight.


	3. Follow

**Asunder**

-

I have yet to do this, and I really should. A big huge-ass thanks to Chev for everything she's done to help me. This story never would have happened without her, and without her slave-driving, proof-reading,and"Write the next chapter _now_, HOR!" I doubt this story would have gone anywhere. So, you rock Chev.

Second: Writing Neji scares me. Very much so.

Comments and criticisms always welcome.

-

Chapter Three: Follow

-

_Dammit!_

Shikamaru dashed through the trees, shoving branches out of his way and giving Chouji an easier path to follow. Ahead, barely in sight, Kiba and Akamaru ran, noses low as they followed—or tried to, at least—Naruto's scent. Shikamaru could only hope between the two they could hold onto the other boy's smell; it had been hard enough to find it in the first place.

The usually lazy boy allowed himself another mental curse, eyes narrowed as he shoved another branch out of his way. He'd been careless, ignored any potential dangers and let this happen. He should have accounted for something like this. Of all the times for him to slip up…

Ahead of him, Kiba suddenly stopped short, face lowered as Akamaru growled. Shikamaru stopped himself, lifting a hand to call a halt. Chouji stopped behind him with an oof, but Shikamaru ignored the noise.

"Kiba, did his direction change?"

The other man shook his head and growled louder. "No, dammit. It's gone!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Gone? Scents can't just go away… Where did it stop?"

"Right here, and we're not finding anything else to help. Dammit! This shouldn't be possible! Scents don't just disappear!"

"Maybe the guys who took him covered it up?" Chouji suggested, but Kiba shook his head angrily, scratching at his head and ruffling his hair.

"You can't just cover up a scent like that, especially if I've been able to follow it this far!"

"But it was difficult to pick up, wasn't it," Shikamaru murmured, eyes lidded as an idea began to form. "It's impossible for a scent to disappear on its own so suddenly, but if someone were to use a type of genjutsu on it…" He paused, hands folded before him as he sorted through all the possibilities.

_Is that type of genjutsu even possible? Could someone cover up a scent…? Or…_ He opened his eyes, a curse escaping before he could stop it.

"Shikamaru, what is it?" Chouji jumped the large branch separating them, his cheeks red and eyebrows scrunched together in worry.

But Kiba realized it too, an angry growl echoing through the trees. "_Dammit!_"

"It was a trick," Shikamaru said softly, eyes hard. "How the hell did I let them trick me?"

Chouji blinked, looking between Shikamaru and Kiba and back again. "Tricked you how?"

"A fake scent, made with genjutsu," Kiba said, teeth bared. "And a damn good one, to have fooled me and Akamaru. Shit!"

"A ninja that can use genjutsu like that… What the hell are we dealing with here?"

Turning sharply, he signaled to his fellow shinobi and began to journey back to camp. They needed to regroup, replan, and go find Naruto before the bad feeling in Shikamaru's stomach got any worse.

-

Neji frowned, releasing the Byakugan and leaning against the trunk of the tree, supported by his hand. He'd been searching since sunup, when an angry Kiba had charged into their camp and thrown a forehead protector on the ground in front of Shikamaru.

And now, hours later, there was still no sign of the loudmouthed owner. Shikamaru had acted instantly, separating them into teams to search in all directions. Neji had opted to go by himself, arguing that the Byakugan was more than enough to compensate for a partner, and that besides Shikamaru, he was the smartest and most strategic of the entire group.

That, and the one person who he could have paired up with was still back at camp.

He had no idea what was going on with Gaara, but Neji bristled at the thought that the Sand-nin had stopped him from waking up—hell, going _near_—Hinata. Despite the help they'd given three years ago, and the subsequent treaty that had lasted since then, Neji didn't trust the three Sand siblings. And of the three, he trusted Gaara the least.

_What does he think he's up to?_

Shaking his head to clear it, the Hyuuga prodigy turned and headed back to their camp—they'd have to come up with a new plan of approach should Sakura and Shino's search prove fruitless as well.

Something told Neji that it would.

-

Shikamaru's team arrived back at camp within a few minutes of both Neji and Sakura. The pink-haired shinobi looked ready to hurt something—or some_one_—and Shikamaru definitely wasn't making plans to be on the receiving end of any violence.

Too bad Sakura didn't seem to agree.

"_You…_" She growled the moment she caught sight of the lazy Chuunin. Shikamaru sighed. _Here she goes…_

"How could you let this happen? If Sasuke-kun were here no one would have been able to do something like this!"

Shikamaru decided not to point out the fact that Sasuke was as likely now to do something like this than not. When Sakura was in her irrational mode, it was best not to point out the fact.

"Sakura," Chouji started, hands held up in front of him, "it's not like this was something—"

"No, she's right," Shikamaru interrupted, not looking away from the girl. "I was careless and let my guard down. We all did."

Sakura didn't seem at all placated. "And what about Hinata-chan? How could you have just left her behind like that? Now look what's happened!"

_That_ gave all the boys pause, although Neji snapped out of it quickly.

"What about Hinata-sama?"

Sakura glared at them all, hands on her hips.

"She's gone. And Gaara's gone too."

Neji took off before she finished.

-

He hurt. Whatever was holding him hurt his arms and legs. Whatever had hit him had done so hard enough so that his torso still hurt. The cramp in his legs from sitting so long hurt. The teeny tiny bit of sunlight he could just barely see hurt.

Naruto was _so _not happy.

Forcing his eyes open and hissing only slightly at the light, he took stock of his situation. Or tried to, anyway. Whoever had grabbed him had done a damn good job to make sure the hyperactive shinobi wouldn't be able to do anything.

"Oi!" No one ever said Naruto was the brightest crayon in the box, now did they? "Hey, what the hell! Let me outta here! …Don't just ignore me, I know there's someone here!" Ok, that was a lie, but still. He had to try _something_, right? "Dammit, answer me!"

The cell, naturally, didn't comply.

_Gonna kill them when I get free, gonna kill them when I get free…_ Growling and struggling against his bonds, thoughts of asskicking giving him strength, Naruto just barely managed to catch the sound of a door opening. Turning his head toward the noise, he growled his best growl and waited for whoever it was to show up.

"Oi, you had better let me go or…"

"Will you _shut the hell up already!_ Gods, you just woke up and I already hate you for it."

Naruto frowned at the woman. She didn't _look_ all that threatening, he figured, what with the fact she was—maybe—two inches taller than him. And was skinnier than Ino on one of her diet kicks. And not that healthy skinny either—she looked like a strong wind would snap her in half.

But that was neither here nor there. Naruto had someone to question, and damn him if he was going to let her get away without answering anything!

"Oi, where the hell am I?"

Running a hand through her short dark hair, she sighed a sigh of longsuffering. "Like I'd tell you that, you idiot. We're not all as stupid as you, you know."

"Hey!"

"But if you would really like to know… I _suppose_ I could tell you. If you promise to keep your mouth shut for five minutes."

A part of Naruto knew there was some sort of trick to this. In fact, that part was pretty damn _sure_ of it.

That part was also the size of a peanut and was rudely shoved out of the way.

"Let me know before I kick your ass!"

Rolling her eyes in that way Shikamaru, Neji, Sakura, Kiba…in the way everyone but Hinata did towards him when he was being obstinate, the girl crept forward, leaning in so her mouth was right beside his ear.

Naruto suddenly had a bad feeling about shoving his premonition to the side.

"_You're in a dungeon, you dumbass, now shut the hell up!_" Her scream echoed throughout the cell, bouncing off the walls and lasting a good ten seconds after she'd stopped.

Once his ears stopped ringing and he could see straight, Naruto glared up at the vertically challenged kunoichi, fangs bared as he tried to lunge at her but fell short, restrained by whatever it was that was keeping him bound. She just laughed and stood up straight, although she didn't move away.

"Idiot. It'll take more than that to get me. You can't do anything without your arms free."

_We'll see about that!_

"Laugh all you want, but don't underestimate me!" With a cry, Naruto leaned back and thrust his legs into the air, smacking the back of his head against the cell wall while his feet careened into the girl's thigh, throwing her to the side as her eyes widened in surprise. She landed on the ground with a loud thud, her arm pinned beneath her in what Naruto hoped was a very uncomfortable way.

_That'll teach her!_

"Brat!"

"Bitch!"

"Dumbass!"

"Ugly!"

Now they were just being childish.

Cursing under her breath, the girl pushed herself to her feet, wobbling slightly as she put pressure on the leg he'd kicked. _That's gonna bruise. Heh. Serves her right!_

"Stupid dumbass gennin pissing me off…"

"Oi! Answer my question now!"

She glared over at him, her right cheek all scraped up from where she'd hit the floor, and forming into what was sure to be one nasty bruise. "No."

"Just do it!"

"Like hell I will. You kicked me!"

"You locked me up!"

"You're our prisoner!"

"And you're ugly!"

Letting out a frustrated growl and throwing her hands in the air, the girl stomped over, careful to stay to his side so it would be harder for him to kick her—_Dammit!_—and leaned down to grab his hair.

"Listen punk, and listen well. I hate to repeat myself. You're our prisoner. That means we don't owe you anything. You're also loud, you have a funny face, and I hate you. But that doesn't matter much, because I gotta keep you alive until my boss gets here. Believe me, this causes me much pain."

Naruto grinned cheekily at her.

"Just shut up and be a good little prisoner, and we'll feed you. Isn't that a fair trade? Yes, I thought so too."

"You keep saying 'we.' Who else is with you?"

Her teeth were starting to grind together.

"Well, who? I bet it's those Sand-nin guys I was following, isn't it? Dammit, Shikamaru was right, you guys are up to something! You do know we're in a truce now, don't you?"

"For one, yes I know. For two, truces mean nothing. For three, do you even pay attention to anything?" She held her other hand up in front of his face, wiggling the fingers. Naruto raised an eyebrow, clearly not seeing what she was talking about. "The ring, you idiot!"

"It's ugly, what about it?"

Releasing his hair, she stomped away and kicked the far wall hard enough to jar herself, then turned back around, hands on hips and a falsely sweet smile on her face.

"It means, you smart boy, you, that you're now a possession of the Akatsuki."

_Aw, hell._

Her smile would make puppies cry. "And you're this Ayaru's prisoner."

-

He didn't know why he was following her. He didn't know why he'd not allowed her comrades to wake her. He didn't even know why it was that he felt the need to test her.

She confused him, and he could only think that was the reason.

Gaara had always believed that your own strength was the one thing that mattered. Live only for yourself, be strong, and let no one interfere with you. He'd lived for twelve years like that—alone, only able to depend on himself. And for six of those twelve years, the only way for him to acknowledge his own existence was to be stronger than everyone else and show that his way was the only way.

But this girl defied that. She was weak, and yet she was trusted. Accepted. Gaara had spent the past three years trying to realize what it was about the Leaf ninja that made them so strong while being physically weak. Losing to Naruto had made him realize things, enough so that he came to the Leaf's aide in their failed attempt to bring back the Uchiha boy.

But he still couldn't quite understand _why_.

So he tested her, followed her, separated her from the ones who would make her strong. To see what she would do—what she _could_ do.

And she struggled. They'd been searching for the better portion of the day, lost in the sands, and he could tell she was exhausted, but she kept going. He didn't know why. She was going in circles, passing the same place at least two times over, and her water was running low.

She had to know there was no chance, didn't she?

But she had proven before that she wasn't as weak as she seemed. He had seen it first hand at the Chuunin exam, in her fight with the other Hyuuga boy. She'd lost horribly, as he knew she would, and at the time he hadn't cared. He didn't think he cared much now, either. But that strange influx of strength had confused him. No one as weak as her should have been able to put up as much of a fight as she had.

He wanted to understand it.

So he followed her, never coming close enough for her to notice, never helping her when she fell.

He simply watched.


	4. On Top of the World

**Asunder**

-

Neji still scares me to write. Really, he does. His personality is hard for me to grasp, and I'm not sure why. Ah well, what're you gonna do?

There's some stronger language in this than other chapters. Not much, but it's there. Just a heads up in case you don't like that kind of stuff.

As always, comments and criticisms are always welcome.

-

Chapter Four: On Top of the World

-

Neji ran, jumped, dodged and all-out bolted across the desert in his haste to find Hinata and Gaara. And he was angry. Either at himself for being careless, at himself for not stopping the Sand-nin earlier when he'd kept them from the passive girl, at Hinata for being foolish, or at Gaara for being weird.

He decided just being angry was enough and left it at that.

_How could we be this stupid? This was all probably a set up to whittle us down, and we played right into Sand's hands._

But he had to admit it seemed odd for Sand to do something like this. Taking Naruto he could understand—the boy was weird and had some kind of power to him, although what it could possibly be he had no idea. But…Hinata was the weakest member of their team, and while he was (very slowly) accepting her, he couldn't quite understand why Shikamaru had insisted on bringing her along.

_Hinata-sama…_

_"Neji-niisan… It-it's okay…"_

He was worried about her. She had forgiven him in that way that only she seemed able to do, and he had made himself a promise to keep her safe. And he'd broken it already by letting something happen to her, in former enemy territory, no less.

And it made him angry that she would probably forgive him for that, too.

_She needs to stand up for herself. We won't always be here to help her…_

Which led right back to him breaking his promise to protect her.

Of course, there was also the possibility that the Sand had nothing to do with any of this and were being set up. Neji wasn't so biased against them he couldn't realize coincidences when he saw them. Perhaps Gaara had nothing to do with Hinata's disappearance. The anti-social Sand-nin could be being his anti-social self and be secluded in a cellar, for all Neji knew.

Either way, the possibilities weren't particularly pleasant.

Cursing a few more times, he hurried on, Byakugan engaged.

And the desert spread out before him.

She collapsed to the sand, energy spent. All day. She'd been searching uselessly all day, and now she was lost. Her water was nearly gone and her rations wouldn't help if she had no water, there was no way she could contact anyone because she didn't know where they were, and she was terrified. She'd never tried to go out on her own before, never done something this reckless since her fight with Neji. And even then, at least there had been people around to help her when she'd gone too far.

There was no one around to help her now.

And the sun was beginning to set, taking all the heat along with it. Curling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself, Hinata tried to fight down the chill and terror.

She was a fool. Even more than anyone had ever thought, she was a fool. Why had she not waited for everyone? Why had she let his words affect her so much? She cared for Naruto and would do almost anything to help him if he needed it, but she had acted blindly. She'd let herself be goaded into action. And lost as she was now, her resolve to help him was nearly gone.

_What can I do now? I…I made it worse for all of them…_

_"So what will you do?"_

She shuddered, pulling her legs tighter around her. _I can't just end it here…_ She had to think; there _had_ to be some way to find out where she was, some way to reorient herself. Then she could start searching again. First she'd find Hidden Sand, then she'd start her search for Naruto again. His forehead protector was wrapped around her arm, like Shikamaru wore his, and she touched it lightly with her fingertips.

_I don't go back on my word… That's my ninja way…_ She'd told herself she would help him, and she would. If she ever wanted to change herself, she couldn't give up, especially not when things got difficult.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, focusing inward and releasing the Byakugan. If she could just find _some_ sort of…

She stopped, frozen. Someone was there, behind her and to the left. And from his chakra pattern…

_Wh-why… What's he doing out here…?_

Standing slowly, shoulders rigid, Hinata turned around, not surprised when he didn't move. He knew he'd been found because he'd done it on purpose.

"Gaara…san…?"

The Sand-nin stared at her from where he sat in the shadow of a dune, saying nothing. Hinata bit her lip, clenching her hands at her sides. He was an ally, there was no reason to be afraid of him.

"What are you doing here?"

Still no answer.

She closed her eyes and took another deep breath, trying to calm herself. When she opened her eyes he was still in the same place, face still unreadable.

"Why… Why did you follow me…?"

The sand at her feet shifted and she flinched, hands crossing over her chest. But nothing happened, and she slowly brought her arms down as Gaara stood, face still unreadable.

"Gaara-san?"

"I don't understand you," he said softly, walking towards her. She tried to take a step back but something held her, and she didn't need to look down to know it was the sand. He stopped a few feet away, close enough where he didn't have to raise his voice but far enough away to stay out of touching distance. "You're like him, and I don't understand."

"Um… I…"

"I don't like not being able to understand," he cut her off, voice soft. "Why do you keep going when there's no longer any reason to?"

Hinata shook her head, lost to his meaning. "I…"

"Three years ago, he did that too. And for three years I haven't understood." He took a step closer, eyes narrowed slightly as the sand at her feet lifted as though it wanted to swallow her. "So why?"

"B-because… He's my friend."

He paused, just looking at her for what felt like forever. But eventually, the sand around her shifted, closing in, and then pulled away just as quickly, leaving Hinata stunned. Gaara stared at her with that impassive expression of his, and then he turned away.

"The village is back east. If you go now you'll reach it within an hour. The desert is cold at night, I suggest you hurry."

He disappeared, leaving Hinata alone and confused. There was never any way to understand what the Sand-nin was thinking, and that was why he scared her most of all.

But he hadn't lied about how cold the night was, and so she cast one last confused look where he'd gone, then turned east and headed back to camp.

Neji found her a little bit later, expression calm, although there was a glint in his eyes she recognized as anger. Whether at her or the situation, she wasn't sure, but she didn't ask about it. Instead she gave him a weak smile that he ignored, taking her arm and leading her back to the village.

"Where were you?" He finally broke the silence, voice not unkind but still cold.

"I-I was looking for Naruto-kun…"

He cast her a glance backwards out of the corner of his eye. "You know better than to go alone, Hinata-sama."

"S-sorry…"

"If something had happened to you, no one would know. And on top of looking for someone else, you would have just made things worse."

She looked down at her feet, face heating up as he berated her. It wasn't as though she wasn't aware of the dangers, but…

"How would it look if I let you run away and die, Hinata-sama? It's like you're trying to make this difficult…"

"I… I can take care of myself, Neji-niisan… I know some healing jutsus… And I have my medicines..."

"Regardless, the Hyuuga heir can't just run off on her own. I'm responsible for you, and I'm not going to let something happen to you."

She frowned, stopping suddenly and pulling her arm out of his grip. Neji turned to look at her, eyes narrowed, but Hinata stood her ground. _I can't just back away… Not now…_

"I'm not a child anymore, Neji-niisan. I…I'm stronger now. I'm not as weak as I used to be."

His eyebrows drew together as his eyes narrowed more, but Hinata backed away, shaking her head slowly.

"Let me do this myself, Neji-niisan. Please…"

"Hinata-sama, you…"

"I'm sorry…" She backed away slowly, hands held before her, and then she turned and dashed off, leaving her cousin behind.

The door slammed shut, much to Ayaru's pleasure. It felt good to let out her aggressions on inanimate objects like that. For one, they didn't talk back or kick her. For two, she could do it repeatedly without any kind of complaints. And for three, they couldn't yell at her repeatedly like a certain someone she wasn't going to name.

_Stupid annoying little pissant…_

Rubbing her leg—it was _so_ going to bruise and she was _so_ going to kill him for that—Ayaru managed not to hobble into the small room where she'd be meeting with her "Sand benefactors."

_Benefactors my ass. More like pawns._ That thought, at least, made her smile, and the pain dulled, if only a little.

Sitting down in the one chair in the room, she leaned back, arms hanging loosely at her sides as they draped over the armrests. She hated these meetings. In fact, she hated meetings in general. They bored her.

The door clicked open and she turned her head, a lopsided smile gracing her face as Hanzo stepped inside, shutting the door firmly behind him. The Sand-nin looked a titch nervous, she noted gleefully. She liked nervous. Nervous she could play with.

"Hello, how are you, please sit down," she monotoned at him, smirking in delight at his glare. "Oops, sorry, you can't do that last bit, can you? You really should work on furnishing the rooms better."

"You don't say."

"No actually, I do say, but that's beside the point, now isn't it?" She leaned forward suddenly, eyes narrowed. "Now hurry up and get this over with so I can get outta this stuffy gods-forsaken room and go get some food."

One of his eyebrows rose at that. "You eat?"

"Fuck off, prick."

"Anytime you want to, little lady," he smirked right back at her, and she felt her eye twitch ever so slightly. Either the man was a complete idiot or he hadn't been laid in a long time.

She was betting on both.

"_Any_who," she continued, leaning back in the chair as he took a step towards her. "You wanted to know what the Akatsuki would exchange for the Uzumaki boy, right?"

Hanzo grunted, leaning against the wall and folding his arms across his chest. "We give you that boy you want, and you help us destroy Konohagakure. Not that hard of a deal, is it?"

She pursed her lips. "If you," she finally began, waving a hand in his vague direction, "believe your Sand village is so great, _why_ do you need _us_ to help you defeat some hicks that signed a peace treaty with you? And agreed to help you rebuild after Orochicheapass went to town on your, uh…" Crap, that was a bad pun. "After he ruined your village."

"Who?"

"Orochimaru, dumbass."

Hanzo's glare, while he gave it an admirable try, really sucked. He stood up straight, tried to bore holes into the back of her head, but she just grinned up at him, eyes hard. She'd learned long ago how to deal with guys like him who thought they were the best, but were really as low as they got. His glare faltered at the undisguised threat in her eyes, and only when he backed down did she let herself relax a bit.

"That's much better. You should really watch your temper, especially around girls like me. We're very fragile, you know."

"Keh."

She laughed coldly. "Yeah you're right, I'm not fooling anyone. Now. Business. You give us Uzumaki and we rid you of your problem, right?"

He nodded, eyes shining in what she was quite sure could be the beginning stages of insanity. That definitely wouldn't do.

Although, she amended as she stood, fingers already moving to form the familiar jutsus, sane or insane, it didn't really matter where he was going.

"Lovely, really," she said, smiling brightly. "That's _just_ what I wanted to hear."

He gagged as she finished the jutsu, his hands flying to his throat and then his face as her genjutsu took hold. Eyes bulging, he managed to throw her a glance, and while he couldn't quite speak (the poor dear), she could tell exactly what he meant.

"Kill two birds with one stone, my papa always used to say. We want Naruto, you want your problem to go away. Well, you won't have any problems where you're going, now will you?" She gave him a little wave as he continued to gag and rip at his skin, trying to remove the thousand small needles and threads from his body.

He finally managed to scream before she made it to the door. Throwing a quick glance over her shoulder, she couldn't help herself. She smiled at the writhing man and blew him a kiss and winked.

"I'll just let myself out. You don't mind, do you?" The door closed behind her with a click, then opened again right away as she popped her head into the room. He was still writhing on the floor, and she noticed with some distaste that he'd managed to claw one of his eyes out.

"You might wanna watch that, there. Dig a little deeper next time so you rip the nerves, too. I hear it's very painful otherwise. Just wanted to give you a word of advice, is all. Oh, and to thank you for the boy. The boss is very pleased. Laters."

The door slammed shut with a resolute click, and she hummed as she made her way down the hall and to Uzumaki Naruto's cell, managing to kick a dead body every now and then.

Sometimes, she had to admit, she didn't mind when she was screamed at.

Shikamaru looked up from where he sat, frowning as Neji sulked into camp. Alone.

Raising an eyebrow, he didn't even have the chance to ask before Neji shook his head, biting out a sharp "She's not listening to me," before he stomped his way across the camp and sat apart from everyone else to sulk some more.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. _Hyuugas_.

"Shikamaru," Chouji said softly, sitting down beside his friend, finishing off a bag of chips. "What'll we do now?"

The Chuunin sighed, shaking his head. Across from them, Sakura sat with her chin on her knees and her arms around her legs, glaring out into the night, Shino and Lee sitting quietly beside her. She'd finally managed to calm down, but she was still touchy, and Shikamaru was more than happy to leave her alone in her funk. He didn't need any more women surprising him.

Most definitely not.

"I guess…" he finally said, looking over at his best friend with a tired smile on his face, "we get as much sleep as we can… And then we start out again tomorrow."

"Is that ok? To do that, I mean. What about Hinata-chan?"

Closing his eyes, Shikamaru leaned his head back against the rock Gaara liked to sit on, sighing.

"It has to be ok, Chouji. It's all we can do."

The chubby boy nodded, looking down at his empty bag of chips with a forlorn expression. Then he stood and walked away, leaving Shikamaru alone to think.

He was still lost in thought when the sun came up.


	5. Slipping Away

**Asunder**

-

Well, this took a nice long time to write. I blame Shikamaru and Temari because they hate me. But, to compensate, this is a nice eight pages long (more than chapter one!). And, because she is uber and is the entire reason behind this entire fic, props to Chev and hope you enjoy this. All for you, hun.

Comments and criticisms, as always, appreciated.

-

Chapter Five: Slipping Away

-

The door slammed open, and Shikamaru managed not to flinch. He'd been expecting her, after all.

"The hell's going on? Why'd you call me at three in the morning!"

"Temari," he greeted, nodding his head slightly. He was beginning to question his reasons for calling on her so early as well—she was troublesome enough when she had sleep. Being woken rudely probably didn't help her disposition any. "We need your help."

"_My_ help. I thought you were the ones helping us?"

"We are. Now it's your turn to help us. It's what allies do."

"…You woke me up at three in the morning to tell me that?"

He shrugged. "No. I woke you up because I couldn't sleep, so I figured someone else could suffer too. Troublesome woman…" he finished under his breath, but her glare told him she'd heard.

"If you weren't so cute I would kill you."

He raised an eyebrow at that, then just shook his head and sighed. Women. "Anyway. Naruto and Hinata are missing, and your brother is as well. We can't comb the city and surrounding areas on our own, so we need your help. No one knows the terrain better than Sand's best ninja, and if we have your help this will go by faster."

She smirked, folding her arms below her breasts and putting her weight on one leg, hip jutting out. If Shikamaru didn't know better he would think she was almost flirting.

"So, you're just using us."

Well, that was one way of saying it. Not that Shikamaru would. He valued his skin too much.

"We're calling it cooperation."

Her grin was absolutely evil as she unfolded her arms and walked towards him until they were face to face.

"What do I get in return?"

His eyebrow went up again. _Why do women always have to be like this…_ "You get the help we're already providing."

"That's part of a treaty, assuring help between the two villages when it's needed. It's not a personal thing." She was closer now, and their last encounter suddenly played in his head.

_If you let her get ahead, you lose…_ "This involves one of my ninja being taken while on your soil. It's not a personal thing, it's a violation of treaty."

"Then why not go to the Kazekage about it?"

"Because if he does know, then our Hokage will know, and then the treaty really will be violated. We don't want that anymore than you do."

"Mm…" She pushed him back a step, noses nearly touching. "So, again. What do I get out of this?"

He rolled his eyes. This wasn't the time to play women's mind games. "The sooner we find Naruto and Hinata, the sooner we finish up here and we leave."

Temari leaned back a bit, quirky smile on her lips. "Hmm… Naruto leaving is definitely a good thing. But I like playing with you."

Shikamaru was not a stupid boy. He knew when he was being toyed with, and when he was being tested. He could counter plan and counter plan continuously for nearly all occasions.

But women. Women never followed the plans. And with this woman he was usually hard pressed to stay ahead of her. Ever since their fight in the Chuunin exam, it seemed as though she tried as hard as she could to outsmart him.

"Sorry. I'm not the playful type."

Her hand fisted in his vest a second before her forehead butted against his and they really were nose to nose.

"I've always liked a challenge."

"And I never have."

"Yes," she smirked, "I know."

Her closeness was beginning to unnerve him, and if that happened he would never be able to beat her. The thing with Temari, he'd realized, was that as long as you didn't let her unnerve you, you could stay at least one step ahead of her.

And if you lost that one step, you lost completely.

"So, will you help us track down your brother and our comrades?"

It took him a moment to realize the sound she was making was a chuckle, and when he did he frowned, mentally sighing. He really hated dealing with women. He especially hated it when the women took joy out of tormenting him, as she seemed to do every time they met.

Although, a part of him had to admit that the feel of her forehead against his and the hand she had fisted in his shirt felt kind of nice…

"And again I ask…" Her mouth was so very close to his… "What. Do I. Get out of it?"

_Why why why is it always pushy women I have to deal with…?_ "My gratitude?"

"That's not very fulfilling, now is it?"

"No, but it's what I'm offering."

She smirked, their lips almost touching, then she jerked the hand fisted in his shirt, a quick flick of the wrist, and he was shoved down onto a bench that lined the wall, with her hovering above him, pinning him down. He raised an eyebrow, face calm as his mind raced to find an opening, to plan for anything and everything she could possibly be thinking before she had time to make a move.

He was just about to make a move when she leaned down and pinned him with a kiss, sharp and harsh and quick, before she stood and backed up, managing to somehow graze his cheek with her nails as she pulled her hand away from his shirt. The grin she had was feral, her stance predatory, and he just continued to sit where he was, watching and gauging and planning, and mulling over what the hell just happened and why the hell these things always happened to him.

"There's no need to worry about Gaara, he can take care of himself." She looked to her left, folding her arms below her breasts and narrowing her eyes slightly. "If anything, I doubt you even have to worry about finding your friends." She looked back at him out of the corner of her eye. "He won't let anything happen to that boy, or if I'm guessing right, to that girl either. Gaara doesn't really get curious too often, but when he does he watches his prey like a hawk.

"Your two friends have caught my little brother's interest. I wouldn't worry about their safety."

Shikamaru sighed, running a hand down his face and back up through his hair. "So what, we're expected to sit here and wait for Gaara to bring them back?"

"No." Again with that smirk. "We're going to do a little bit of cleaning up around here, and you're going to help." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her expression, a bad feeling beginning in his stomach.

"After all, that's what allies are for, right?"

-

"If you don't stop struggling right now, I will break your arms and legs. …On second thought, I might just break them because I want to."

Naruto growled at the girl walking beside him, eyes narrowing when she only smirked at him. _Dumb bitch…_

"And stop glaring, I hate that too."

Naruto kicked his leg out to trip her, grinning with almost sadistic glee when his heel smashed into her kneecap and sent her crashing to the ground.

The grin quickly disappeared when he went down with her.

"Bitch!"

"Asshole!"

Naruto scrambled back to his feet as fast as he could manage with only his legs free, glaring bloody murder at the kunoichi across from him who was also hurrying to her feet. A huge bruise was already forming on her knee, and from the way she stood he could tell she'd be limping for a while, and he wondered, again, just how someone like her could make it into the Akatsuki. Were they so hard up for members they'd take anyone who wasn't the least bit squeamish about killing someone?

"Goddammit, I hate you!" Her black and red cloud patterned cloak billowed in the desert wind, hat obscuring her face, but he could tell without seeing her body that she was red with anger and her hands were tensed like claws. She'd looked that way since the moment he met her, he doubted now would be any different.

"Ugly hag, let me go!"

Her foot lashed out and connected with his jaw, sending him back to the ground, but his legs snaked out to reciprocate. She saw the attack coming and jumped in time to dodge, landing on his ankles and smirking at his expression.

"I told you I would break them just for the hell of it, don't tempt me."

Naruto growled low in the back of his throat, jerking his legs to make her move. The short girl jumped off, her smirk still there, and watched him struggle back onto his feet, hands still bound behind his back with chakra.

_I'll wipe that smirk off your face… If I could wipe Sasuke's off a few times when we were growing up, I can do it to you, too!_ He smiled to himself at the thought of her face when she realized he was about to completely defeat her, and the image helped the next few miles of desert trek to pass rather quickly.

She finally called them to a halt in what he thought of as the middle of nowhere, nothing but flat sand as far as the eye could see. Lip pouting out in a mix of anger, frustration and pure confusion, he turned to his captor, indicating the area with his head.

"Yo, ugly. Why did we stop here?"

"Because."

His eye twitched. "Yah, ok. Now why?"

The hat shifted a bit; she was facing him now, although he couldn't see her face. "Because this is where I decided to stop. Now shut up, your voice is annoying."

"So's your face, but you don't see me complaining."

The chakra holding his hands clenched uncomfortably, bending his arms in a way they shouldn't ever bend, and Naruto sucked in his breath, refusing to make any sound. There was no way he'd give her that kind of a victory.

"Anyone ever tell you silence is golden? No, I don't think they ever did." The hat shifted again, and she was facing away. By the way the cloak moved though, he could tell she was making seals with her hands, although what they were and what they were for he had no idea.

_But while she's doing that…_ He tested the chakra bond, pulling against it lightly. The bindings tightened sharply, cutting into his wrists, and he stopped. When the pain dulled a bit, he tried again, this time attempting to pluck at the chakra with his own. Chakra manipulation was never his thing, and his control of chakra—while better—was still not on par with anyone in his group. He allowed himself a small inner chuckle at the knowledge Sakura could do this with her eyes closed and standing upside down, then forced himself to focus. He had to take full advantage of any chance he had to free himself. The Akatsuki girl might be weak in her body, but her chakra control was above even Sakura's, and her genjutsu wasn't anything to take lightly. He'd realized that when she'd dragged him from the cell and he'd seen all the bodies littering his little prison.

But even with extensive prodding, the bonds wouldn't give way, and Naruto found himself growing more and more frustrated. There was no way he was going to let this woman take him to the Akatsuki, or anyone else. He'd managed to escape Itachi—with Jiraiya's help—so he could definitely get away from someone who wasn't half as strong as the Uchiha.

"You're wasting your time, you know." He growled at her, but she refused to turn back towards him. And since his hands weren't free, he had to be content with only mentally flipping her off. "You'll never break my chakra, so there's no use in trying."

_Cocky, arrogant…_ Naruto was briefly reminded of Sasuke in that fact, then quickly shoved that thought aside. Sasuke may have been cocky, but at least there were _some_ redeeming factors to pull the boy out of the 'No-one likes you' hole he'd been trying to dig himself into. _Kyuubi on the other hand…_

Inside his head, Naruto was sure he heard the fox demon laugh.

_You could help instead of just laughing, asshole!_

He received a nonchalant shrug as a response, along with some words that he was quite sure would make many a mother discipline her child for a month.

His chakra must have spiked, because the bonds on his hands tightened and Ayaru turned to face him, hat turned back so he could see half of her face. Unable to do anything else, Naruto stuck his tongue out at her.

"You shouldn't do that, unless you intend to you use it." She smirked at him as he quickly pulled his tongue back in his mouth, torn between being horrified that she would suggest something like _that_ or being angry at himself for being horrified.

He decided to take a note from his friend's book and brush it off as though it didn't affect him.

"If you were pretty, maybe. But sorry, ugly people just don't do it for me."

Her smile was fit to kill. "And prepubescent boys don't do it for me, either. Maybe if your voice starts cracking we'll talk."

"Hey!"

"Except not because the very idea makes me sick." Naruto lunged at her but she dodged to the side and brought her hand down on the back of his neck, easily felling him. Face in the sand, he let out a string of curses that would make Hinata hide and make Sakura smack him, then forced himself to his knees, spitting.

"Pure pigheaded stubbornness won't save you, you know," she said from behind him. A moment later he heard a hollow thump noise and the ground shifted beneath him, and then her hand was in his hair and he was roughly pulled to his feet.

"We're here. Welcome to your new, temporary home."

She turned him around and shoved him into the small cave she'd created, following closely after him. He didn't even have time to turn around and try to take her down before the opening closed behind them and everything was pitch black.

And she just laughed.

-

The sun had barely kissed the horizon when a lone shadow darted off from the small camp, gliding along the sand like a bird through the air. Chouji sat and watched, eyes narrowed sadly, but he made no move to stop the figure.

_Good luck._

When the shadow was long since gone, the young genin turned back to his bag of chips, grabbing a few and popping them into his mouth. His watch was almost over—Shikamaru would wake up soon, and then Chouji could catch an hour or so of sleep before he had to wake to help out in the village.

"Mornings sure are pretty in the desert," he said to no one in particular, crunching down on a chip. _Come back safe. We'll be waiting for you guys._

_-_

Harsh sun beat down on the top of his head, his long black hair quickly absorbing the heat and burning his scalp, but Neji pressed on, not willing to stop and unable to even if he'd wanted.

_Hinata-sama…_

He'd failed to find her the other day, but he would not fail today. Byakugan engaged, he forced himself through the burning heat, forced himself to ignore the mirages his eyes saw but the Byakugan dismissed. For someone who hadn't mastered the Hyuuga clan's blood limit, he knew the very act of combating mirages would make them dizzy and sick, but Neji was the most efficient Byakugan user, surpassing even Hiashi himself.

Feet slipping slightly on a dune, the sand shifting uncertainly, Neji growled and caught himself, pausing only a second to readjust his chakra control for better footing. Urgency did not equate carelessness. And if Neji was anything, it wasn't careless.

A change in the wind caught his attention, eyes and head darting to look to the left, horizon hazy and indistinct. But there was _something_ there. Squinting his eyes, forcing the Byakugan's range, he allowed himself to stop, feet planted firmly on the constantly shifting dunes.

A figure? No… It wasn't quite right. There was something strange about the figure, some kind of deformity. No human he knew stood quite that way…

His eyes narrowed dangerously as the sands shifted and the figure's chakra pattern was clearly, painfully visible. He'd seen that chakra pattern only a few times before, and the sight was enough to make his hackles rise.

The sand beneath his feet barely moved as he took off, darting across the dunes, eyes locked firmly on the figure in the distance. And while he knew it was pure foolishness, and more than likely deadly, he couldn't stop himself from his headlong dash.

_If he's done anything to Hinata-sama I will kill him, demon or no._

Sometimes, Neji forgot the difference between urgency and carelessness. And sometimes, he didn't care.

He was nearly upon Gaara when another chakra signature revealed itself, half-hidden in the sand, and Neji stopped dead where he was, eyes widening in shock.

Even with his normal eyes he could see them now, Gaara sitting calmly on the side of a dune, the roiling sand always just managing to miss him, the red-haired young man's eyes impassive. Neji didn't need to follow the younger boy's eyes to know what he was looking at.

Hinata was lying in the sand, her legs and half her torso covered, face down and passed out. Her skin was dangerously burned, her chakra weak.

"Hinata-sama!"

Neji raced towards them, skidding down the dune Gaara sat at, not even bothering to give the cold eyed boy a glance. Hinata made no move she heard his voice, and even when he reached her side and shook her, she barely responded.

"Hinata-sama! Wake up!"

"Leave her alone."

Neji turned towards the other boy, eyes narrowed dangerously and chakra sparking. "She's going to die if nothing is done!"

That impassive mask stayed strong, and Neji found himself hating the other ninja for it. "Leave her alone. I want to see what she does."

"What?"

"I want to see what she does. To see how strong she really is."

"You've been watching her die just for that?"

Gaara blinked slowly, staring through Neji at the girl lying on the ground, and the Konoha-nin felt the last of his severely strained patience snap. The sand at his feet whirled as he pushed himself away from Hinata and towards Gaara, Byakugan and chakra ready for the attack.

Naturally, Gaara saw him coming, and within a few steps had Neji frozen in place, sand roped around his legs and arms. The older ninja's eyes widened when he realized what he'd just tried to do, but Gaara just stood and walked past him without a word.

"Stop! What do you think you're—"

"Noisy," he heard the Sand-nin mutter, and then sand clamped over Neji's mouth, effectively silencing the irritated ninja.

_The hell is he going to do…?_

Struggling against the sand and failing miserably, Neji finally had to resign himself to only using the Byakugan to see what was going on. It wasn't the inability to see so much as the inability to stop Gaara from doing anything that frustrated him so much.

Strangely enough, Gaara just seated himself a bit away from Hinata, legs crossed the same way they'd been while he sat on the dune, and watched. Just sat, and watched, and Neji was forced to do the same.

Eventually, Hinata began to stir, the sand covering her shifting and falling off as she raised her head, blinking and wincing as her skin pulled tightly. Gaara continued to sit and watch, but Hinata made no move as though she noticed him, or cared he was there, and Neji had the sinking suspicion she was used to this.

_Bastard, what's been going on?_

She did, however, react when she saw _him_, back to her and still held by sand. Gasping and covering her mouth with her hands, she struggled to her feet, hastily brushing the sand off as she made her way towards him, small sunburnt hands trailing over the sand and his arms alike.

"Neji-niisan… Why are you h-here…?"

He resisted the urge to sigh. "I've been looking for _you_, Hinata-sama. I… We've all been worried. Come back to camp with me."

She bit her lip and stepped back from him, hands held before her heart as her eyes darted to the right, towards where Gaara sat. Neji frowned, eyes narrowing, but he said nothing.

"I-I can't… I already told you that, Neji-niisan…"

"I don't care!" He tried to take a step towards her but the sand held him tightly. "I won't let anything happen to you, especially not here and especially not near him."

"Neji-niisan…"

"And if you won't return with me," he continued, forcing her eyes to meet his, "then I will go with you." She shook her head at that, eyes widening as she took a step towards him, mouth opening to protest. "Whether you say it's okay or not, I will follow you."

Hinata looked back and forth between her cousin and the Sand-nin, biting her bottom lip so hard Neji was afraid she'd tear it. He watched her closely, his eyes never leaving her face, taking in every action, every nuance, until at last, finally, he saw her slight twitch, saw the decision click into place, and then suddenly the sand was gone and he was free. He barely managed to catch himself from falling, giving a glare back at the other ninja, but Gaara was already gone, lost in the shadows of the dunes.

"He's always doing that," Hinata supplied softly, face down and hands clasped before her. "I've gotten used to it…"

_In a little over a day…?_ Neji raised an eyebrow but said nothing, instead disengaging his Byakugan and gripping the sand with his chakra, holding out a hand to the younger girl beside him.

"Either way…" She looked up at him, head tilted to the side in a way that could be either endearing or annoying. He had yet to decide which way he thought of it as. But his hand was still extended, and she finally took it, and he started off in a random direction, not really sure where he was going or why.

_Let's hope this doesn't get us killed._

The sand whirled behind them, and eventually their footprints were gone with their forms as they crested the horizon and continued on towards the gradually rising sun.


End file.
